Hunger

It may be hard to believe, but some 42.2 million Americans go hungry each day. That’s more than one in eight people in the country. That’s according to Michelle Stuffmann, director of outreach and communications for MAZON, a Jewish Response to Hunger, whose exhibit is slated to travel to St. Louis in July.

It takes just a moment to hand a child a sack lunch, but it is THE moment -- the one that matters – for the volunteers with Twigs, a program that feeds children from financially struggling families in the summertime in Granite City.

You’ll find the volunteers in their bright yellow shirts at 11 designated spots -- street corners, parks and churches -- from 11:30 to 12:30, Monday through Friday, rain or shine, starting the day after school lets out for summer vacation and until it opens again.

According to a report released in September by the University of Missouri-Columbia, the percent of people who have inadequate access to food rose more in Missouri than in any other state in the nation from 2000 to 2010.

Approximately 1.3 million Missourians are currently classified as "food insecure." About 400,000 Missourians experience hunger.

Students and workers from several schools and businesses assembled at John Burroughs School to assemble food packages for people in need in the country of Tanzania and St. Louis city today, as part of an event held by nonprofit St. Louis World Food Day.

The event was held in honor of World Food Day, which was created by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. The cause is being led by Don Soffer, a high school senior at John Burroughs. The 17-year-old is trying to both alleviate hunger and change how others think about it.

While the national average shows 14.7 percent of American homes had low or very low food security between 2010 and 2012, Missouri's average is 16.7 percent, or about one out of six households. That's up from 15 percent during the 2007-2009 survey period. Glenn Koenen is Hunger Task Force Chair for the Missouri Association for Social Welfare.

When settlement houses were founded in the United States in the late 19th century, the idea was for educated middle-class or upper-class individuals to settle in impoverished areas, and through their influence and resources help lift their neighbors out of poverty.

Perhaps the most famous American Settlement House was Chicago's Hull House, founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Star in 1889.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: Three years after Panera Bread launched an innovative social experiment to help feed hungry Americans, the Saint Louis Bread Co.’s nonprofit café in downtown Clayton remains a work in progress, says Kate Antonacci, who directs the corporate initiative.

The bottom line is that the doors remain open, and Panera remains committed to the endeavor, she said.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: Winter weather has stretched this year’s chili-eating season into spring. But even after temperatures warm up, chili will continue as a good choice for philanthropists, and those struggling to find enough to eat.